Sales are up 24 percent since bottoming out in 2009. Since then, the local car and truck market has become known for its upward pace.

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As the national car market revs up, fueled by revived domestic manufacturers, the local market is doing even better and moving toward its best year since 2004.

New vehicle sales are on pace to exceed 40,000 cars and trucks this year in the Rochester area, a number not reached since well before the 2007-09 recession placed handcuffs on consumers' ability to buy.

"What helps is that we avoid the hills and valleys," Brad McAreavy, president of the Rochester Automobile Dealers' Association, said Monday, echoing a refrain often heard about the steadiness of the regional economy. "We have kept a ...